Time for a Wedding Freebie! I’m Giving Away 3 signed copies of my new book Weddings Away

This one is JUST for U.S. locations; sorry, no international sends right now, but we’re working on other giveaways coming up!

All you have to do is post a comment here, even a smiley-face, then say hi on Twitter @sharonnaylorwed. No tagging friends needed. We’re making this easy as pie! Deadline is 3/15/18.

Here’s the Amazon write-up for my book

Now that you’ve said, “I do” to having a destination wedding, it’s time to make your fairy tale getaway celebration a reality!

Whether you’re planning an island wedding, overseas nuptials, or an intimate gathering in a beloved beach house or a charming village close to home, this invaluable guide from go-to wedding expert Sharon Naylor gives you all the information you need to make your magical day meaningful, memorable, and carefree—for you, and for your guests! You’ll discover:

*How to choose the right planner—and how to get the most out of your on-site wedding professionals

From navigating travel trends and social media to benefitting from little-known freebies, this comprehensive guide to planning your wedding from afar is brimming with information you won’t easily find anywhere else. Weddings Away has everything you need to keep your happily-ever-after stress-free and smooth sailing!

If meditation and lavender baths aren’t cutting it for you as a wedding stress-reliever, try coloring books! Coloring books for adults are a new top trend in anxiety-busting and calm-creating, and there’s a big collection of gorgeous coloring books to choose from [No, you’re not stuck with Frozen or Peppa Pig coloring books!] Entertainment Weekly just did a big roundup of coloring books that are ‘gorgeous and sophisticated,’ the answer to a ‘screen-weary culture.’ (Pick up the Summer double issue of Entertainment Weekly to see more.] And pick up some coloring books, markers and pens to boost your serotonin levels and get rid of that wedding stress in a lovely way.

We are in chocolate heaven over here at Sharon Naylor Wedding Books. The great folks at Shari’s Berries sent over some chocolate-covered goodies for our bridal shoot, and the place smells AMAZING!

Imagine setting up a chocolate platter on your engagement party, wedding or bridal shower bar, and giving your guests a great variety to choose from — and of course, the chocolate has to be The Best because your guests KNOW good chocolate from that cheap, waxy stuff you see at the supermarket. When you bring out the chocolate platter, your party space gets that mouth-watering chocolate scent, making your dessert bar stand out even more.

The Shari’s Berries site describes it like this: What would make sandwich cookies, gourmet pretzels, and graham crackers even more scrumptious? Chocolate of course! Each item in this tasty gift collection is smothered with a milk chocolate coating and then decorated with artful dark chocolate drizzle.

And think also about how happy your out-of-town wedding guests will be when they card-swipe into their hotel rooms and find a platter of chocolate-covered pretzels, grahams and Oreos instead of that been there-done that welcome bag of chips, packaged snacks and water. Instead, just like at a 5-star luxury resort, they find a platter of these chocolate-covered treats, or Shari’s Berries chocolate-covered berries (which are spectacular, fresh, sweet, juicy and every other word for delicious!) That’s indulgence, and that sets the tone for your guests having the best time ever on your wedding weekend. Or just set the pretty box in their rooms:

Shari’s Berries also sent us some super-cute cookies that we’re photographing today, so I’ll post soon about those.

You’re loving your freebie tips on personalized wedding elements to honor family and friends on the big day! Here is some more from my ebook, focusing on using family heirlooms in your wedding plans:

Family Heirlooms

Since wedding gown styles are now accented with a sparkling brooch – either on the bodice or in the back, you can honor your mother, grandmother, great-grandmother or an honored woman on your groom’s side by wearing her brooch as part of your ensemble.

Brooches are also popular accents for bouquet handles, so perhaps that brooch, or a cameo pin, can be your bouquet accent in tribute to its owner.

Wear the necklace your mom or grandmother wore on her wedding day. It might be a demure piece you wear only for the ceremony, and then you can change into a more dramatic sparkler for your reception.

Bracelets may be more fitting to your gown’s style, so wear an heirloom diamond tennis bracelet, or it may be that piece that your mom wore at her wedding, either as an heirloom or a gift from your father…which actually honors him as well.

A saint medallion owned by your grandmother can be pinned underneath the skirts of your dress or pinned onto your bouquet handle.

Rhinestone hair clips are often found in grandmothers’ jewelry boxes, and vintage hair accents are in for today’s weddings. If you slip these into your wedding day hairstyle, you add an element of your beloved grandmother’s style to your look.

Sisters can be honored too, by wearing their jewelry or hair clips for your wedding look.

Have your mother’s wedding-day headpiece re-made to include a slightly altered design, perhaps more or fewer rhinestones or faux gems.

You don’t have to be the one wearing the heirloom piece! Perhaps your mother can wear her mother’s jewelry, or if you have a daughter, a small rhinestone hairclip owned by her grandmother or great-grandmother is a pretty way to include honored relatives.

If an heirloom piece of jewelry doesn’t work for your wedding day look, wear it to your rehearsal dinner or engagement party.

Take some lace from your mother’s or grandmother’s wedding dress and use that as the wrap for your wedding bouquet.

Birdcage veils are in now, and if your grandmother wore one at her wedding, you might wear hers for your ceremony, or just for some post-ceremony photos if you’d rather wear a different style of headpiece for your ceremony.

Your groom can wear his father’s or grandfather’s pocketwatch, wristwatch or cufflinks during the wedding.

Handkerchiefs were musts in wedding days of old, so bring your grandmother’s along to the wedding to capture in some of your wedding photos.

Don’t forget that your future in-laws would love to be so honored, so ask if there are any costume jewelry heirloom pieces that you might be willing to work into your wedding look. It’s quite an honor!

If your mother’s or sister’s ring pillow fits with your ceremony style, and is in perfect condition, you might use that as your ring pillow. You can always pin on some pretty faux flowers or ribbon to make it your ‘own.’

Save a little bit of money and honor your parents by using their original cake topper for your wedding cake, or use it as the topper for your engagement party or rehearsal dinner cake if you have a different style in mind for your wedding cake’s accenting.

A mom’s or grandmother’s wedding shawl or wrap, or winter stole, can be a wedding day accessory – just be sure to get at least one pro photo of you wearing it!

Thank you, eBay! The Coach brand mega-sale is going on right now, and while I snapped up that satchel I had my eye on, both in-store and online, I found some very budget-friendly bridesmaids gifts for you to grab up and give to your bridesmaids as the most impressive gifts EVER. They’ll think you spent a fortune, but you’re really at close to half the average price of a bridesmaid’s gift! Moms, too, can get these cute cases or handbags from the www.ebay.com site [you’ll see their big Coach sale banner on the home page with a giant countdown clock!]

The card cases above are traditional black and brown for your classic bridesmaids, and then I picked out these fun, flirty, fashionista jewelry pouches with the Coach insignia. Now they’ll finally have something cute to put all their jewelry in when they go on a road trip or travel in for your wedding. As someone who used to put all my travel jewelry in a Ziplock baggie, I can tell you, these are great! Shop it up today and load up on fabulous bridesmaids’ and moms’ gifts!

These aren’t the only Coach treats in the sale; you’ll find tons of handbags, satchels, wristlets, novelty items, ballet flats and more, on any budget level. So if you want to spoil your MOH or Mom, you’ll find great Coach pieces here. And if your wedding coordinator or floral designer are truly amazing, a thank-you gift like this will make for a happy wedding planning team member!

In order to create your dream wedding with your wedding professionals, you have to speak their language. They’ve had 30+ years in the bridal industry, and you’re ultra-new to this world that’s far more detailed than you ever imagined. When you learn the lingo, you can share your vision with your wedding pros and understand their comments and questions sent to you.

Grooms? They definitely need Speak Wedding cards to help them communicate with your wedding pros, and with you as you plan the big day.

Helping you speak your wedding pros’ language, is Speak Wedding, the new beginner-level flashcards developed by award-winning, trend-setting wedding expert Annie Lee of Daughter of Design® with artwork from celebrity wedding invitation designer Ceci New York.

Here’s a bit about the cards:

Wedding vernacular seems foreign to those new to nuptials, but with these beginner-level flashcards, anyone can speak Wedding with confidence. Each of these stylish 50 cards developed by wedding expert, Annie Lee of Daughter of Design ® with artwork by Ceci New York, teaches common terminology, abbreviations, and other wedding vocabulary to help familiarize novices with wedding culture and have them sounding like natives in no time. Not only do the cards teach necessary wedding lingo, they also act as a great tool to start conversations on topics like what the Mother of the Groom will wear to the wedding and if the Bride and Groom will want to see each other before the ceremony. Read the wedding term on the front of these two-sided flashcards then flip the card onto its backside for a full explanation, correct usage, pronunciation, and other helpful tips. It’s the perfect gift for a newly engaged couple and a fun new bridal shower trivia game!

Weddings are full of symbolism, bringing good luck and all kinds of wonderful, positive things to a marriage. So it’s no wonder that brides choose hummingbirds, dolphins, dragonflies and all kinds of lovely symbolic motifs into their wedding invitation designs, their wedding décor, their bridal showers, and even their personal wedding websites. Each of these symbolic animals – also known as ‘totems’ in some cultures – add a touch of good luck to the couple’s happily ever after.

Right now, birds are a top trend in wedding motifs, and I’ve chosen for this new Wedding Symbolism post a pretty, bright little bird: The Finch. Here are the symbolic meanings of the Finch:

Appreciation

Diversity

Enjoying the Journey

Happiness

Healthful Diet

High Energy

Honoring Resources

Joy

Simplicity

Variety

Legend has it that finches symbolize ‘bright times ahead’ or ‘bright days on the horizon,’ which couldn’t be more perfect for a wedding.

Native American culture holds the finch as a bird of happiness, since they’re so brightly-colored, and their flight patterns are joyful, ebullient, a bouncy, joyful pattern of bobbing through the air in complete delight. As a symbol for your marriage, think ‘We won’t always go from Point A to Point B in our marriage, but we’re going to make the journey a fun, playful one.’ The lesson of the finch is this: enjoy the journey!

Native American symbolism also calls the finch a harbinger of upcoming celebration, which again fits so perfectly with a save the date card or wedding invitation – a great celebration is on the way! And looking ahead at your many years of happy marriage, even more upcoming celebrations are ahead of you. So says the finch.

Getting a little deeper, animal symbolism also calls the finch’s birdsong to be an invitation to listen to your own song, and to sing it out loud. Don’t hide your brilliance from the world.

If you’re confused about the healthful diet symbolism of the finch, here’s where it comes from: a finch’s bright color comes from the food that it eats. The healthier its diet, the more vibrant it is. So that old adage ‘You are what you eat’ is reflected in the finch, as a lesson to make healthy living a top priority in your future together, so that both of you can be bright, happy, energetic, radiant and at your best.

Since finches are known to nest in a variety of places, the symbolism for the finch is ‘make a happy home,’ or ‘thrive where you are,’ or ‘appreciate where you are in life, and make your place your own.’

Finches brighten the day of anyone who sees them, and since they’re not a rare bird, they’re pretty much visible everywhere, and very often. So show up and make someone’s day even brighter…which you and your groom will definitely do on your wedding day!